Automatic gender test with NT?

troopersmom

Just a quick question- I'm going to be 35 when baby's delivered... We did the NT test. Do they automatically test gender? Did we have to ask them to test gender in advance? My blood work isn't back yet... I'm just curious if anyone knows if this was done automatically-
When they call me with blood test results- do they go down a list of positives/negatives/ gender or do they just tell you you're good to go?
Any experience or stories are welcomed!
Thanks :-)

kajordan09

The blood test with the NT (nuchal translucency) test does not test for gender, only your risk for certain chromosomal abnormalities. In my experience, they are not able to determine gender definitively early enough with the ultrasound that goes along with the NT, but I've read on here that many had a technician who were able to, so it's possible.

The blood test with the NT test is NOT the same at the MaterniT21 or Progenity and like tests which actually test if the baby DOES have any chromosomal abnormalities.

jht4

kajordan09 said:

The blood test with the NT (nuchal translucency) test does not test for gender, only your risk for certain chromosomal abnormalities. In my experience, they are not able to determine gender definitively early enough with the ultrasound that goes along with the NT, but I've read on here that many had a technician who were able to, so it's possible.

The blood test with the NT test is NOT the same at the MaterniT21 or Progenity and like tests which actually test if the baby DOES have any chromosomal abnormalities.

That is 100% percent correct. The blood test associated with the NT test looks for markers within your blood. These markers are then used to calculate risk of some chromosomal abnormalities. NIPT (maternity21, harmony, etc.) is a test that examines fetal DNA within the mothers blood. Sex chromosomes CAN be identified during this test; however, determining the sex should not be the primary reason to complete this test. It is a test to identify chromosomal abnormaties and has a much lower rate of type 1 and type 2 error (eg, it is much more accurate) when compared to NT testing.

Being of advanced maternal age (35 or over at delivery) is one of the reasons *most* insurances will cover NIPT. You should talk to your doctor and maybe request to speak to a genetic counselor about this type of testing if it interests you. I am a big believer that people should understand what test they are completing and why they are completing it.

daniklake

Just in case you don't know which kind of test you had done...
The normal nt bloodwork usually uses a few drops of blood from a finger prick. You tend to get those results in a few days.

The special bloodwork that other ladies have mentioned such as harmony, maternit21, panorama, and verifi will all need more blood taken. I did the panorama and they took two vials of blood. They look at a lot more details with those tests (including gender) and they need more blood to do that. It also takes about 2 weeks for results.

If you're curious, I'd just call your dr and ask what blood test they ran. That way you know what to expect.

sugarmagn0lia

I believe the test that they do will automatically allow them to tell the sex, but I'm not sure - I didn't have one done! I'm sure even if they did give you a general all-clear, you could ask for the report or more specificity!

JenLovesDesign

I had the Maternit21 test and my doctor (prior to the test) as well as the nurse who called me to tell me results asked me if I wanted to know the gender.

PlainJane8350

I found out through Materna as well.

Yiggle09

Being 35 the office should have offered you the dna tests because they usually are covered at your age. I had the panorama test by choice but my office does not test for the gender with it- their office policy. They have to ask the MD in charge if a family wants to know the gender which my husband and I decided we didnt want to go through all that and we would wait.

kajordan09

jht4 said:

kajordan09 said:

The blood test with the NT (nuchal translucency) test does not test for gender, only your risk for certain chromosomal abnormalities. In my experience, they are not able to determine gender definitively early enough with the ultrasound that goes along with the NT, but I've read on here that many had a technician who were able to, so it's possible.

The blood test with the NT test is NOT the same at the MaterniT21 or Progenity and like tests which actually test if the baby DOES have any chromosomal abnormalities.

That is 100% percent correct. The blood test associated with the NT test looks for markers within your blood. These markers are then used to calculate risk of some chromosomal abnormalities. NIPT (maternity21, harmony, etc.) is a test that examines fetal DNA within the mothers blood. Sex chromosomes CAN be identified during this test; however, determining the sex should not be the primary reason to complete this test. It is a test to identify chromosomal abnormaties and has a much lower rate of type 1 and type 2 error (eg, it is much more accurate) when compared to NT testing.

Being of advanced maternal age (35 or over at delivery) is one of the reasons *most* insurances will cover NIPT. You should talk to your doctor and maybe request to speak to a genetic counselor about this type of testing if it interests you. I am a big believer that people should understand what test they are completing and why they are completing it.

Thank you SO much for saying this! I was literally just having this conversation with my sister-in-law over the weekend. We were both incredibly surprised that proper counseling isn't often accompanied by these (NIPT) tests and we both agreed it should be mandatory! People get these tests without having a second thought about what they would do with the information if it were to come back as positive. It's easy to think you'd react one way or another, but honestly you don't really know how you'd react unless you have all the facts and information.

jht4

daniklake said:

Just in case you don't know which kind of test you had done...
The normal nt bloodwork usually uses a few drops of blood from a finger prick. You tend to get those results in a few days.

The special bloodwork that other ladies have mentioned such as harmony, maternit21, panorama, and verifi will all need more blood taken. I did the panorama and they took two vials of blood. They look at a lot more details with those tests (including gender) and they need more blood to do that. It also takes about 2 weeks for results.

If you're curious, I'd just call your dr and ask what blood test they ran. That way you know what to expect.

I had 1 to 2 vials of blood taken both times I had the NT test as part of the sequential screen. Haha, maybe I need to switch labs, I would much rather have had a finger prick! I completely agree with this poster, the only way to know what tests were/will be run is to ask your doctor. It is your body and your health, never be afraid to ask questions!!

missmandah

I had one vile taken for my blood work for the nt scan